Leg-rest and self actuating control arrangement for reclining chair



Dec. 20, 1960 P. s. FLETCHER 2,965,158

LEG-REST AND SELF ACTUATING CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR RECLINING CHAIR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 3, 1957 FIG. I.

INVENTOR.

PETER Sv FLETCHER.

I I BY f4 f2 dmAb/v Y Q ATTORNEYS Dec. 20, 1960 P. s. FLETCHER 2,965,158

LEG-REST AND SELF ACTUATING CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR RECLINING CHAIR Filed June 3, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4.

INVENTOR.

PETER S. FLETCHER.

BY /2a ATTORNE Dec. 20, 1960 P. s. FLETCHER 2,965,158

LEGREST AND SELF" ACTUATING CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR RECLINING CHAIR Filed June 3. 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet, 3

244 INVENTOR PETE/2 -s. FLETCHER.

Dec. 20, 1960 P. s. FLETCHER 2,965,158

LEG-REST AND SELF ACTUATING CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR RECLINING CHAIR Filed June 3, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. IO.

INVENTOR. PE TER. 5. FLETCHER United States Patent ce LEG-REST AND SELF ACTUATING CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR RECLINING CHAIR Peter S. Fletcher, Boynton Beach, Fla assignor to Anton Lorenz Filed June 3, 1957, Ser. No. 663,155

17 Claims. 01. 155-106) The present invention relates generally to articles of furniture, and in particular to improvements in reclining chairs which include a support, body-supporting means having a seat and back-rest movably mounted on the sup port, and a leg-rest and control assembly for coordinating movement of the leg-rest in response to movement of the seat and back-rest.

Reclining chairs are generally known which incorporate a support, and body-supporting means including a back rest and seat movable to various reclined positions relative to the support. Such known chairs usually include a legrest disposed adjacent to and beneath the forward end of the seat with linkage means for coordinating movement of the leg-rest to the movement of the back-rest. In the known reclining chairs, the back-rest and the seat are mounted on the support to be pivoted rearwardly to a reclined position, and the linkage means is invariably connected to the back-rest, or an extension thereof, to be actuated by the rearward pivoting movement of the backrest, whereby said leg-rest is coordinated in its movement. Accordingly, when a person seated in the chair leans back to pivot the back-rest rearwardly to a reclined position, the leg-rest is moved by the linkage means to an extended, leg-supporting position forwardly of the seat and approximately at the level of the seat.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a reclining chair of the type described in which the seat is mounted to be moved rearwardly in a substantially level plane when the back rest is moved to its reclined position, and in which the leg-rest control linkage is adapted to be actuated in response to this rearward movement of the seat. According to the invention, this is accomplished by mounting the leg-rest control linkage on the support frame of the chair, and connecting the leg-rest control linkage atone end to the seat and at the other end to the leg-rest.

control linkage is not connected to the back rest, and is controlled entirely by the rearward component of the seat movement, rather than by pivoting movement of the back rest. Thus the structure may be incorporated in a chair in which the back-rest or seat has very little pivoting or tilting movement.

Specifically, the improved linkage of the invention includes a first pair of links connected to each other, and a second inter-connected link pair, one of the links of each pair being pivotally mounted on the support frame of the chair, and one link of each pair being connected to the seat. The link of each link pair which is not connected to the seat is connected either directly, or through additional linkage, to the leg-rest, for raising the leg rest from a retracted position beneath the forward end of the seat, to an extended position forwardly of and susbtantially at the level of the front end of the seat, when the seat is moved rearwardly. The improved linkage arrangement finds application in reclining chairs of the type in which the seat and back-rest are rigid with each other, and as 2,965,158 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 well as in reclining chairs of the type where the seat-is movable relative to the back-rest.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following de tailed description of a number of operative embodiments demonstrating the several aspects of the invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a reclining chair incorporating the invention herein, the chair being shown in an upright, non-reclining position, and with a portion of the side wall of the chair broken away to reveal inner structural detail;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the linkages employed at each side of the chair of Fig. l for coordinatingmovement of the leg rest and seat, the linkages being shown in the same position as in the Fig. 1, that is, with the chair structure in a non-reclining position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the reclining chair shown in Fig. 1 with the chair structure shown in the reclining position and the leg rest shown raised by the control linkage to its extended position;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the linkages in their extended position corresponding to the reclined position of the chair structure illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of reclining chair made in accordance with the present invention, the chair being shown in an upright, nonreclining position, and a portion of the side wall of the chair being broken away to disclose inner structural details;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the chair linkage corresponding to the non-reclining position shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the chair shown in Fig. 5 with the chair illustrated in its reclining position, and the leg-rest shown in its corresponding extended position;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the chair linkagein the extended position shown in'Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of a third embodiment of a reclining chair made in accordance with the present invention, the chair being shown in an upright, nonreclining position, and a portion of the side wall of the chair being broken away to reveal inner details of construction;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of the linkage shown in Fig. 9, the linkage being in thesame non-extended position illustrated in Fig. 9;

Fig. l1is a side elevational view of the chair illustrated in Fig. 9, with the chair shownin its reclining position and the leg rest in its extended position; and

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view of the chair linkage in a position corresponding to the position shown in Fig. 11.

Referring in detail to the drawings and specifically to Figs. 1-4 which illustrate a first embodiment of the invention, there is shown a reclining chair generally designated by reference numeral 10. The chair 10 includes a support or frame 12, on which body-supporting'means 14 are movably mounted. The body-supporting means 14-comprise a seat 16 and back rest 18 which, in this instance, are integral with each other or rigidly'connected to each other so that they move together as a unit.

The rear portion of the body-supporting means'14 is movably mounted on the support or fr'ame'12'by means of a guiding link 20, one end of which is pivoted at'22 to the lower portion of seat 16 and the other end of which is pivoted at 24 to the support 12. An abutment member 26, rigidly mounted on the supportlZ, is positioned to be engaged by the guiding link 20, the abutment member 26 acting as a stop to limit the rearwardpivoting movement of the guiding link 20, and therefore limit- 3 ilng the rearward movement of the body-supporting means A leg-rest 28 is also included in the chair structure, the said leg-rest being supported by a self-actuating control means, generally designated by the reference numeral 30. The control means 30 is effective to move the legrest 28 from the retracted position beneath the forward end of the seat, shown in Fig. 1, to the extended position forwardly of the seat, shown in Fig. 3.

The control means 30 includes a first link pair 32, 34, and a second link pair 36, 38. The links 32 and 34 of the first link pair are pivoted together at their ends by a pivot 40. The free end of the first link 32 is pivoted at point 42 to the seat 16. The free end of the second link 34 of the first link pair is pivoted at 44 to the leg-rest 28. The first link 32 is turnably mounted at a pgint intermediate its ends on the support 12 by pivot The second pair of links 36 and 38 are pivotally connected to each other at their ends by pivot 48. The free end of the first link 36 of the second pair is connected by pivot 50 to the bottom end of a depending bracket 52 rigidly and immovably fixed to the seat 16 and acting as a lower extension thereof. The free end of the second link 38 of the second link pair is pivoted to the leg-rest 28 at point 54, which point 54 is spaced from the pivotal connection 44 of the link 34. The link 38 of the second link pair is turnably mounted intermediate its ends to the support 12 about a pivot 56. This intermediate pivot point 56 of link 38 is spaced from the intermediate pivot point 46 of link 32 of the first link pair.

In practical use, identical linkage arrangements are employed at each side of the chair for coordinating the movement of the leg-rest 28 to the seat 16. However, in the above description. only one of such linkage arrangements has been described, it being understood that a corresponding linkage arrangement of similar construction is employed at the other side of the chair.

In the non'reclining position of the chair, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the seat and back rest of the body-supportmeans 14 is located in a normal forward position in which the seat is substantially horizontal and the back rest 18 is in an upright position. The leg-rest 28 is in its retracted position, in which it is vertically disposed beneath the forward edge of the seat 16. When the user sits in the chair and leans backwardly therein. the backrest 18 is urged rearwardly by the weight of the user. The unitary seat 16 and back-rest 18 is therefore translated rearwardly relative to the support 12 to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Rearward movement of the body supporting means 14 is guided at the rear end of the seat 16 by the guiding link 20, the pivot point 22 describing a relatively sharp arc to lower the rear end of the body supporting means 14 at the same time that the latter is moved rearwardly. The forward portion of the seat 16 is guided in its rearward movement by the upper portion of the link 32 which connects the seat 16 to the support 12 at the pivot 46. The seat 16 is only slightly inclined as it is moved rearwardly.

As the seat 16 moves rearwardly, the pivot 42 is also moved rearwardly therewith, causing the link 32 to pivot about its fixed pivot point 46. The link 32 acts as a double-arm lever, its lower end pivoting forwardly to propel the link 34, and the leg-rest 28 connected thereto, forwardly of the seat 16. At the same time, rearward movement of the seat 16 urges the link 36 downwardly through its extension bracket 52, causing said link 36 to carry the end of the link 38 downwardly at the pivot point 48. Link 38, which is pivoted intermediate its ends at 56 to the support, also acts as a double arm lever so that, as its rear end is drawn downwardly at 48, its forward end is moved upwardly, causing the leg-rest 28 to be propelled vertically to a position in which it is substantially at the level of the front of seat 16.

Cooperation between the two link pairs 32., 34 and 4 36, 38, thus propels the leg-rest 28 outwardly and up wardly as the seat 16 is moved rearwardly.

It will be observed that the link of one pair which is pivoted to the support is connected to the leg-rest, while the link of the other pair which is pivoted to the support is connected to the seat. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-4 the link 38 which is pivoted to the support 12 at 56 is connected to the leg-rest at 54 while the link 32 which is pivoted to the support at 46 is connected to the seat at 42.

The depending bracket extension 52 permits the use of a relatively long link 36 so in order that its pivot point 48 be moved in a relatively flat are upon initial movement of the seat 16 rearwardly, thereby preventing the leg-rest 28 from being moved downwardly from its retracted position to any appreciable extent.

When it is desired to restore the chair to its normal or upright position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the user merely exerts a slight downward pressure upon the legrest 28. This pressure is translated into a corresponding movement of the control linkage 30, causing the seat 16 to move forwardly to its original position, and also causing the leg-rest 28 to be brought to its retracted position.

Reference is now made to Figs. 5-8, which show a modified type of reclining chair in which the seat and back rest are movable relative to each other, and also illustrates an alternate type of control linkage for actuating the leg-rest. In this embodiment, those portions of the structure which correspond to similar structure in the embodiment of Figs. 1 through 4, are given the same reference numerals as part of the series.

The chair comprises a support or frame 112, body-supporting means 114 including a seat 116 and a back-rest 118, and a leg-rest 128. In this embodiment, both the back-rest and the seat are mounted to move relative to the support and to each other, the seat 116 being connected to the back-rest 118 by means of arms 160 fired to said seat 116 and connected to the backrest 118 by pivot 162. The back rest 118 has fixed brackets 164 depending therefrom, which brackets 164 are con nected to the support 112 at pivot 124. An abutment member 126 mounted on the support 112 is positioned to engage the bracket 164, thereby acting as a stop to limit the rearward pivoting movement of the back rest 118. As before, identical linkage arrangements are pro vided at each side of the seat, and therefore, for convenience. onlv one of these linkage arrangements will be described in detail.

The leg-rest 128 is moved from the retracted position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 to the extended position shown in Figs. 7 and 8 by a control linkage which is generally designated by the reference numeral 130. The control linkage 130 includes a first link pair 132, 134 joined together at their ends by pivot 140, and a second link pair 136, 138 joined together at their ends by a pivot 148. The link 132 of the first link pair is pivotally connected at its free end to the seat 116 at point 142. The second link 134 of the first pair is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the support 112 at pivot point 146.

The first link 136 of the second link pair is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to support 112 at pivot point 156. while its free end is connected to the seat 116 at pivot point 150, the point being spaced rearwardly of the pivot point 142 of link 132. The free end of the link 138 is connected to the leg-rest 128 by pivot 154.

In this embodiment the link 138 is made elongated and the link 134, instead of being directly connected to the leg-rest 128, is indirectly connected to the leg-rest through the medium of a third pair of links and 172. One end of link 170 is connected to the free end of link 134 by pivot 174. The other end of link 170 is connected to the end of link 172 by pivot 176. The link 170 crosses the link 138,, and is connected thereto at its crossing point by a pivot 178. The other end of link 172 is pivotally Connected to the leg-rest 128 at 'poi'nt144'.

In use, when a person is seated in the chair in its upright position shown in Fig. 5, and leans backwardly against the back-rest 118, the back-rest will tilt rearwardly about the pivot 124. This rearward pivoting of the back-rest 118 will carry with it the rearward end of the seat 116 through the connecting bracket 160. As the seat 116 is moved rearwardly, its forward end is guided by the portion of the link 136 which connects the seat 116 to the support 112 by the pivots 150 and 156. The pivot 150 will therefore describe a shallow arc in a rearward direction as the seat 116 is moved rearwardly. Again, the link 136 will act as a doublearmed lever, pivoting about its fixed intermediate pivot point 156 and causing the lower end of the link 136 to be raised, which in turn raises the link 138 and causes said link 138 to move the leg rest 128 forwardly and upwardly. At the same time, the link 134 of the first link pair also acts as a double-arm lever, rearward movement of the link 132 with the seat 116 causing the link 134 to pivot about its intermediate fixed pivot point 146, lowering the pivot 140 and raising the pivot 174. Raising of the pivot 174 causes the leg-rest 128 to be raised to the position shown in Figs. 7 and 8 through the medium of the third pair of connecting links 170 and 172.

It will be appreciated that because of the length of the link 138, as well as the provision of the additional pair of links 170 and 172, the leg rest 128 is capable of being brought to an extended position (shown in Figs. 7 and 8) in which it is spaced well forwardly of the front edge of the seat 116. The chair of this embodiment is thus particularly adapted for use by tall persons having long legs.

It will also be observed that the linkage structure shown in the embodiment of Figs. 5-8 is the reverse of the linkage structure shown in Figs. 1-4. That is to say, the second link 134 of the first link pair is pivotally connected to the support, while the first link 136 of the second link pair is also pivotally connected to the support.

Figs. 9 through 12 illustrate a third embodiment of the invention, in which a reclining chair, of a type similar to that shown in Figs. 5 through 8, is provided with a modified leg-rest control linkage arrangement which is the reverse of the arrangement shown in Figs. 5 through 8. Since many parts of the structure of this embodiment are similar to those illustrated in the embodiments of Figs. 1-4 and Figs. 5-8, similar reference numerals will be employed herein, with these numerals being part of the "200 series.

In a form of the invention shown in Figs. 9-12, the reclining chair 210 comprises a support 212, body supporting means 214 including a seat 216 and a back-rest 218, and a leg-rest 228 controlled by a control linkage 230. The back-rest 218 is directly connected to the support 212 by a pivot 224. The seat 216 is pivotally connected to the back-rest 218 through the means of a rearwardly-projecting extension arm 260 which is connected to the back rest 218 by pivot 262. An abutment member 226 connected to the frame 212 is positioned to engage the back rest 218 to limit the rearward pivoting movement thereof. A second abutment member 280 is also fixed to the support 212, and is positioned beneath the seat 216 to support the rear end of the seat in the upright position of the chair shown in Figs. 9 and 10. In addition the member 280 abuts the link 236 in the reclined position of the chair to limit rearward movement of the seat.

The control linkage 230 which supports and moves the leg-rest 228, includes a first pair of links 232 and 234 connected together at their ends by pivot 240, and a second link pair 236 and 238 connected together at 2; sea, '1 58 their ends by pivot 248. The free end of the first link 232 of the first link pair is pivotally connected to the seat 216 at point 242. Intermediate its ends, the link 232 is pivotally mounted on the support 212 at point 246. The free end of link 234 is connected to the leg-rest 228 by pivot 254.

The first link 236 of the second pair is pivotally mounted on the seat 216 at point 250 which is spaced from the pivot point 242. The second link 238 of the second pair is pivotally mounted intermediate its end on the support 212 at point 256 which is spaced from the pivot mount 246 of link 232. I

A third pair of links 270, 272, connected together at their ends by pivot 276, are utilized to connect the link 238 to the leg-rest 228. The free end of link 270 is connected to the free end of link 238 by the pivot 274. The free end of link 272 is pivotally connected to the leg-rest 228 at pivot point 244 which is spaced from the pivot mount 254 of the link 234.

It will be observed that the mounting of the first and second pairs of links in this embodiment is the same as that for the first and second pairs of links in the embodiments of Figs. 1-4, and is the reverse of that shown in Figs. 5-8. That is to say, in this instance, the first link 232 of the first link pair and the second link 238 of the second link pair are pivotally mounted on the support 212. Also, in this instance, the third link pair 270, 272 are connected to the link 238 of. the second link pair.

The operation of the reclining chair is similar to that previously described in connection with the first two embodiments. When the chair is moved from its normal non-reclined position of Figs. 9 and 10 to the reclined position of Figs. 11 and 12, the seat 216 is drawn rearwardly, and the links 232 and 238 act as levers pivoting about their intermediate fixed pivot point 246 and 256 to move the leg-rest 228 upwardly and outwardly.

In this embodiment, the mounting of the seat and back-rest is such that the back-rest 218 may be brought to a more fully reclined position than in the other two embodiments. The linkage arrangement is such that the leg rest 228 while being spaced a greater distance from the front of the seat 216 than in the embodiment of Figs. 1-4, is not spaced as far as in the embodiments shown in Figs. 5-8.

A comparison of the three embodiments shown herein, will reveal that a common feature of the linkage arrangement resides in the fact that the first link of one of the link pairs is connected to the support while the second link of the other link pair is also connected to the support This pivotal mounting of the links on the support must be alternate, an inoperative structure resulting if both of the first links or both of the second links of the two pairs are mounted on the support.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein by way of illustrating operable structures incorporating the invention, it is obvious that numerous additions, changes and omissions may be made in the structure of these embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. For use in a chair which includes a support, and body supporting means comprising a back-rest and seat movably mounted on said support for rearward movement of said seat in response to movement of said backrest to a reclined position; a leg-rest, and control means mounting said leg-rest on said chair and connected to said seat and to said support for coordinated movement of said leg-rest between a retracted position beneath the seat and an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the level of the forward end of the seat in response to rearward movement of said seat, said control means being disposed substantially in a single plane and including a first pair of pivotally-connected links and a.

second pair of pivotally-connected links, eachof said link pairs comprising a first link pivotally connected to said seat and a second link operatively connected to said leg-rest, the respective connections to said seat and legrest being spaced from each other, and spaced pivot means mounting one link of each pair on said support.

2. For use in a chair which includes a support and body supporting means comprising a back-rest and seat movably mounted on said support for rearward movement of said seat in response to movement of said back rest to a reclined position; a leg-rest, and control means mounting said leg-rest on said chair and connected to said seat and to said support for coordinated movement of said leg rest between a retracted position beneath the seat and an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the level of the forward end of the seat in response to rearward movement of said seat, said control means including a first pair of pivotally-connected links and a second pair of pivotally-connected links, each of said link pairs including a first link pivotally connected to said seat and a second link operatively connected to said leg-rest, pivot means mounting the first link of one pair of links and the second link of the other pair of links intermediate the ends thereof on said support, and a third pair of pivotally-connected links coupling one of said second links to said leg-rest, the second link of the other pair being pivoted directly to said leg-rest.

3. Leg-rest control means according to claim 2 in which the third pair of links couples to the leg-rest the second link which is connected to the support by said pivot means.

4. Leg-rest control means according to claim 2 in which the third pair of links couples to the leg-rest the second link which is connected to the support by said pivot means, a link of said third pair crossing over the other second link and being pivotally connected thereto at the cross-over point.

5. For use in a chair which includes a support and body supporting means comprising a back-rest and seat movably mounted on said support for rearward movement of said seat in response to movement of said backrest to a reclined position; a leg-rest, and control means mounting said leg-rest on said chair and connected to said seat and to said support for coordinated movement of said leg-rest between a retracted position beneath the seat and an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the level of the forward end of the seat in response to rearward movement of said seat, said control means including a first pair of pivotally-connected links and a second pair of pivotally-connected links, each of said link pairs comprising a first link pivotally connected at its free end to said seat and a second link pivotally connected at its free end to said leg-rest, and pivot means mounting the first link of the first pair and the second link of the second pair, intermediate the ends thereof, on said support.

6. Leg-rest control means according to claim 5 in which the seat has a depending extension rigid therewith, the first link of the second pair being pivotally connected at its free end to said seat extension.

7. An assembly according to claim 5 in which said seat and back-rest are rigid with each other.

8. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means movably mounted on said support for movement lbetween a normal, forward sitting position and a rearward, reclined position, said body-supporting means comprising a seat and a back-rest, a leg-rest, control means operatively connecting said leg-rest to said seat and said support for movement of said leg-rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an extended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly thereof when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means being disposed substantially in a single plane and including first and second link pairs, each pair of links comprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat, a second link pivotally joined at one end to the other end of the first link, means operatively connecting the other end of each second link to said leg-rest, and means pivotally connecting one link of each pair to said support, the respective connections to said seat, said leg-rest and said support being spaced from each other.

9. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means movably mounted on said support for movement between a normal formal sitting position and a rearward reclined position, said body-supporting means comprising a seat and a back rest rigid with each other, a leg rest, control means operatively connecting said leg-rest to said seat and said support for movement of said leg rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an ex-- tended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly thereof when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means including first and second link pairs, each pair of links comprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat, a second link pivotally joined at one end to the other end of the first link, pivot means connecting the other end of each second link to said leg-rest, and means pivotally connecting the first link of one pair and the second link of the other pair to said support at intermediate points on said links.

10. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means movably mounted on said support for movement between a normal, forward sitting position and a rearward, reclined position, said body-supporting means comprising a seat and a back-rest, a leg-rest, control means operatively connecting said leg-rest to said seat and said support for movement of said leg rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an extended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly there of when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means including first and second link pairs, each pair of links comprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat, a second link pivotally joined at one end to the other end of the first link, connecting means operatively connecting the other end of each second link to said leg-rest, and means pivotally connecting the first link of one pair and the second link'of the other pair to said support at intermediate points on said one link, said connecting means including a third pair of links pivotally connected together and connecting said second link mounted on the support to said leg-rest.

11. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means movably mounted on said support for movement 'between a normal, forward sitting position and a rearward, reclined position, said body-supporting means comprising a seat and a back-rest, guiding means connected .at one end to the rear end of said seat and at the other end to said support for guiding rearward movement of said seat, a leg-rest, control means operatively connecting said leg-rest to said seat and support for movement of said leg-rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an extended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly thereof when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means including first and second link pairs, each pair of links comprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat, a second link pivotally joined at one end to the other end of the first link, connecting means operatively connecting the other end of each second link to said legrest, and means pivotally mounting the first link of one pair and the second link of the other pair on said support at intermediate points on said links, said connecting means including a third pair of links pivotally connected together and connected at one end to the second link -mounted on the support and at the other end to said leg-rest, the first link mounted on the support being connected to the forward end of the seat andcooperating with said guiding link to guide the seat in its rearward movement.

12. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means movably mounted on said support for movement between a normal forward sitting position and a rearward, reclined position, said body-supporting means comprising a seat and a back-rest rigid with each other, a guiding link pivotally connected to and depending from the rear end of said seat and pivotally connected to said leg-rest for guiding rearward movement of said seat, a leg-rest, control means operatively connecting said legrest to said seat and said support for movement of said leg-rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an extended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly thereof when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means in-, cluding first and second link pairs, each pair of links cornprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat and a second link pivotally joined at one end to the other end of the first link, pivot means connecting the other end of each second link to said leg-rest, and means pivotally connecting the first link of the first pair and the second link of the second pair to said support at an intermediate point on said links, the first link of said first pair connecting the forward end of the seat to said support and cooperating with said guiding link to guide the seat in its rearward movement.

13. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means movably mounted on said support for movement between a normal forward sitting position and a rearward, reclined position, said body-supporting means comprising a seat and a back-rest, a leg-rest, control means operatively connecting said leg-rest to said seat and said support for movement of said leg-rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an extended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly thereof when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means including a first pair of links and a second pair of links, each pair of links comprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat, a second link pivotally joined at one end to the other end of said first link, pivot means pivotally mounting an intermediate point of the first link of one pair to said support, pivot means pivotally mounting an intermediate point of the second link of the other pair to said support, a third pair of links pivotally connected together at their ends, the free end of one link of said third pair being connected to said leg-rest, the free end of the other link of said third pair being connected to the free end of the pivotally-mounted second link, the free end of the other second link being connected to said leg-rest, and means pivotally connecting said other second link to said other link of said third link pair.

14. A reclining chair according to claim 13 in which the link of said third pair which is connected to the legrest crosses over said other second link and is pivoted to said other second link at said crossing-over point.

15. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means movably mounted on said support for movement between a normal, forward sitting position and a rearward, reclined position, said body-supporting means comprising a seat and a back-rest, a leg-rest, control means operatively connecting said leg-rest to said seat and said support for movement of said leg-rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an extended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly thereof when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means including first and second link pairs, each pair of links comprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat and a second link pivotally joined at one end to the other end of the first link, means pivotally mounting intermediate points of the first link of the first pair and the second link of the second pair at spaced apart points on said support, a third pair of links pivotally connected at their ends, one link of said third pair being pivotally connected to the free end of said second link of the second pair, the other link of the third pair being pivotally connected to the leg-rest, said one link of the third pair crossing over the second link of the first pair and being pivoted to the latter at said crossing-over point, the second link of the first pair being pivotally connected to the leg-rest.

16. For use in a chair which includes a support, and body-supporting means including a back-rest and seat movably mounted on said support for rearward movement of said seat in response to movement of said backrest to a reclined position, a leg-rest, and control means mounting said leg-rest on said chair and connected to said seat and to said support for coordinated movement of said leg-rest between a retracted position beneath the seat and an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the level of the forward end of the seat in response to rearward movement of said seat, said control means including a first pair of pivotally connected links, a second pair of pivotally connected links, three separate pivot means connecting said first pair of links to said seat, leg-rest and support respectively, and three further separate pivot means connecting said second pair of links to said seat, leg-rest and support respectively.

17. In a reclining chair, a support, a body-supporting uni-t including a unitary seat and back-rest mounted on said support for movement between a normal forward sitting position and a rearward reclined position, guiding means operatively connected at one end to said seat and at the other end to said support for guiding rearward movement of said seat, a leg-rest, control means operatively connecting said leg-rest from a normal position beneath the seat to an extended position substantially at the level of said seat and forwardly thereof when said seat is moved rearwardly to its reclined position, said control means including first and second link pairs, each pair of links including a first link pivotally connected at one end to the seat, a second link pivotally connected at one end to the other end of the first link, connecting means operatively connecting the other end of each second link to said leg-rest, and means pivotally mounting the first link of one pair and the second link of the other pair on said support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 228,869 Clough June 15, 1880 2,604,141 Maurer July 22, 1952 2,726,709 Lorenz Dec. 13, 1955 2,782,836 Krakauer Feb. 26, 1957 2,849,052 Schliephacke Aug. 26, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 724,385 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1955 738,350 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1955 

